Dark Beginnings
by AmberLS123
Summary: Alexander and Maria were eager to begin their new life together... but a dark and terrible force interferes with their happiness...


Alexander Janssen had never been so happy in his short life of 27 years. It was a cool, quiet evening in London. He sat on a park bench watching the last rays of the setting sun, the golden light emphasizing the brilliant hues of the changing autumn leaves. A magnificent end to such a beautiful day. And there was no one he'd rather share this moment with than the woman sitting by his side. He placed his arm around her shoulders, and she looked up and smiled at him shyly, tucking a strand of her auburn hair behind her ear, her blue eyes sparkling in the twilight. Even though they had known each other for a few years, she still took his breath away.

Maria. The love of his life, the apple of his eye; there were just not enough words that could describe the depth of his love for her. He felt a thrill of excitement at the thought that they would soon be husband and wife, and in no less than five days. They both worked at the university, he as a professor and she as a secretary, and had decided to take a relaxing stroll through town to the park, mostly chatting more about their future and eager to begin their new life together.

As they spoke they soon lost track of time, and the shadows quickly began to lengthen. Alexander rose from the seat and, offering Maria his arm, he proceeded to escort her back home to her flat. The moon had begun its ascension into the sky; but as it disappeared behind the gathering clouds, their way was only lit by the yellow glow from the street lamps above them. A chilling wind picked up, causing them to pull their coats tighter around them.

"Brrr… it's so cold all of a sudden," Maria remarked with a shiver.

"It sure is," said Alexander, putting his arm around her and pulling her close to share their body heat. "Here, I know a shortcut." Maria was surprised to find him steering her in the direction of a human cemetery.

"I don't know, Alexander…" she said hesitantly. "It doesn't look very safe…"

"It'll be alright," he insisted. Winking roguishly, he added, "I'll protect you from any spooks that might pop up."

"Sure you will," Maria replied with a laugh, shoving his arm playfully.

However, as they made their way through the maze of headstones rising up stark and cold against the night sky, neither of them could help feeling a bit unnerved by the shadows cast all around by the moonlight.

"It does have a… an ominous atmosphere, doesn't it?" Alexander remarked with a nervous laugh.

Suddenly, Maria let out a quiet gasp. "W-What was that?" she whispered fearfully.

"What?" Alexander asked, his eyes darting about frantically.

"I… I could have sworn I saw something dart behind that stone…"

"Just your eyes playing tricks on you."

"I-I suppose…"

Both froze in their tracks as the wind began to blow again, the rustling of dead leaves sounding like ominous whispering, as if the dead were angered by the couple trespassing on their ground.

"I-It's only the leaves…" Alexander said aloud, as if to reassure himself as well as Maria that that was true.

As they turned down a bend in the path, Maria gasped again, grabbing Alexander's arm so tightly that he could feel her nails through his thick coat. He followed her gaze to a headstone just to the right of the path and felt his blood run cold. In the shadow cast by the stone was what appeared to be two glowing red eyes, standing out cold and threatening against the darkness. At first he thought it to be a result of his overactive imagination, made worse by the feelings associated with graveyards. But if Maria could see it as well…?

Then, as suddenly as it appeared, the apparition was gone. He felt as if his heart would beat right out of his chest, and he could feel Maria trembling beside him. "A-Alexander…" she whispered in fear, staring at the spot where the eyes had been.

"L-Let's get out here," Alexander breathed, seriously regretting his suggestion to use this route as a shortcut.

They hastily continued onward down the path, straining against another sudden gust of wind. Alexander breathed an inward sigh of relief to see the iron gate up ahead, marking the exit. Yet a moment later, something crashed into them from behind, and Alexander fell hard to the ground. He shook his head dizzily and got up on his hands and knees. Realizing that Maria had been torn out of his grasp, he whirled around to behold a most terrible sight; one that would haunt him for the rest of his days.

A male mouse stood on the path, his tall stature making him tower over Alexander from his position on the ground. He had gray fur and long black hair tied behind his neck, and was dressed all in black. But it was eyes… those _red_ eyes staring down at him that caused him freeze in terror. He suddenly realized that Maria was struggling weakly in the grip of the mouse, her eyes wide with terror.

It was that sight of his beloved in peril that galvanized him into action, and he sprang forward at the monster, swinging a good right hook at his face. But the mouse stepped aside so swiftly that Alexander missed completely. He suddenly felt a stinging pain on his left cheek as the mouse retaliated, the force knocking him to the ground again. Letting out a low hiss, he clutched the wound made by the sharp claws as he stared up at the mouse, who glared down at him in annoyance. Maria's soft whimper seemed to remind the mouse of her presence, and he gazed down into her eyes. She froze, then suddenly went limp in his grasp, ceasing her struggles. The mouse caressed her face softly, as if she were _his_ love and not Alexander's, then brushed her hair away from her neck as her head rolled to the side. She stared unseeing at Alexander, as if in a trance. Before Alexander could react to help her, he saw the mouse put his lips to her neck. Alexander seethed with rage that he would dare to kiss her; and what was worse was the soft moan that escaped from Maria. He shot up to his feet again, ready to spring; but his heart nearly stopped as the mouse lifted his head, his thoughts struggling to register the truth of what he saw.

Blood… _Maria's_ blood… staining his lips…

…_He was drinking her blood._

Alexander stood frozen in terror at the horrifying sight. He had heard of the creatures of the night, but they had never been anything more than fairy tales, only real to those weaker and superstitious minds. Yet what other explanation could there be for this… this _vampire_ that held his beloved?

He heard Maria whispering his name and came back to himself. "Get away from her!" he shouted, attacking the mouse again. He threw several punches at the mouse, but no matter what he did, the other was simply too fast, seeming to move like lightning as he easily dodged the blows. He backhanded Alexander again, sending him flying backward. He seemed to have the strength of twenty mice, and Alexander was clearly no match for him. But that did not deter the young mouse. As he struggled to his feet, the demon laid the unconscious Maria on the ground. Seeing his chance, Alexander sprang once again, but was shocked as the mouse caught him in midair and slammed him against a headstone, nearly knocking him unconscious. He choked as the mouse grabbed him by the throat and lifted him high into the air.

"Foolish mortal," the thing growled, its grip tightening around his neck. "You dare to strike against me?"

"As long as you threaten Maria," Alexander gasped, "I'll fight you with my dying breath."

The mouse glared at Alexander, his red eyes narrowing dangerously. "As you wish."

What happened next was all a blur; a terrifying, bloody nightmare that haunted his dreams and even his waking moments years later from the incident. Alexander had expected to be dead by the time the monster was through with him; and when at last he came to his senses, he nearly wished he were. His body was in such pain that he could only lie there in agony, completely unable to move or even cry out for help. The thing he was most aware of was that Maria… his darling Maria... was gone, along with the monster who took her.

It wasn't until early the next morning when a passerby found him. He awoke in a hospital bed, his body broken and battered; and his mind nearly shattered. When questioned about Maria, he tried to tell the police what happened, but his ravings about a vampire kidnapping his beloved only made things worse. No one believed him; especially not her parents. For a while, he was even considered the main suspect. How could they accuse him of being the one to do such a thing? However, no one would listen. He was soon even declared insane and was shipped off to an asylum.

Months passed, and as he continued to recover from his wounds, both physical and mental, he eventually ceased to speak of the incident. Yet it was still as fresh in his mind as if it had happened yesterday. In fact, anytime he looked in a mirror reminded him of it. Three long scars ran from his left ear down his cheek to his chin, and there were jagged tears in both his ears. His clothes hid the scars on his back and chest, and he wore gloves to cover the ones on his hands and arms from where he had tried to shield himself from the monster's attacks. The demon had left his mark on him in more ways than one.

Eventually Alexander was deemed sane enough to return home, only to find that he was no longer welcome. Maria's parents still viewed him as the culprit, and so had no pity for him; he gained suspicious looks from everyone in the neighborhood, especially the police. Everyone knew who he was because of his scars, no matter how hard he tried to hide them. In fact, because of his reputation from that night, he ended up losing his position at the university. Alexander even considered asking for the help of Basil of Baker Street, the Great Mouse Detective; but if Scotland Yard wouldn't believe him, then he doubted the famed detective would either. Eventually, he did the only thing he could think of and left his life in London and fled to the mainland where he wandered for some time trying to establish a new life for himself. However, it was impossible to forget that night. Several times he nearly sank back into that pit of despair and was certain that he would go insane.

Yet he clung to the hope that Maria was still alive. It was incredibly unlikely, he knew; but possible. Either way, that _monster_ was still out there somewhere. The fear he had felt for so long began to turn to rage. That thing had destroyed his life, had robbed him of his future with Maria. And he would pay. He would keep his promise and fight the demon until his dying day.

And so began Alexander Janssen's quest to avenge his beloved.

* * *

**Author's Note: I briefly mentioned this incident in chapter 3 of Echoes in My Mind, but decided to make a fic about what exactly happened the night that Fane cel Raul kidnapped Maria, and give some insight into the character of Alexander Janssen and why he's so bent on defeating the monster. I thoroughly enjoyed writing this; despite how scary and awful it is to put these characters through such things. I can't help it, it's almost Halloween XD **

**Hope you like it! **

**Fane cel Raul, Alexander Janssen, and Maria (c) me**  
**The Great Mouse Detective (c) Disney and Eve Titus**


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